Diary of a food-loving Central New Yorker

04/10/2012

Birthday doldrums? Pamper them away at Mirbeau

Your birthday at 20 and 30: You hit so many clubs, mingle with so many people and have so much fun, it’s all a blur. You don’t remember anything.

Your birthday at 50: You’re greeted with black balloons, “Over the Hill” cards, a bottle of Centrum Silver and a subscription to AARP Magazine. They say your memory is in decline, but you remember EVERYTHING…

Yes, friends, birthdays call for something special, and MILESTONE birthdays call for something REALLY special. Some people want to paint the town and others prefer a more relaxing, low-key celebration – which we happily arranged for my sister last month on the occasion of a mile-marker birthday.

A visit to to Mirbeau is special, indeed – for the person having the birthday AND for those treating him or her to a day of pampering.

The special treatment can be something as simple as a manicure or pedicure, but we recommend something a little more indulgent, like a 50-minute Swedish massage. Surrender. You’re in the best of hands, pun intended. Nearly every inch of you – from your scalp to your slumped back and shoulders to your over-used typing-texting hands and tired, neglected feet – will say thank you.

For the ultimate in luxury, pad upstairs in your slippers and bathrobe and sit down to an elegant three-course spa lunch. The menu changes regularly, but usually includes a choice of soup or salad, entree (chicken, beef, seafood) and dessert, like crème brulee, Hummingbird cake and the PB&J: chocolate-peanut butter bombe with Concord grape puree and homemade marshmallows.

On a recent Friday, the soup of the day was a puree of romaine lettuce, to which nothing more than broth, salt, pepper and a touch of cream had been added. That might sound a little strange, but if you can make smoothies with romaine lettuce, why not hot soup?

Mirbeau’s Orange Flower Essence Crème Brulee: In a word, divine.

Add a glass or bottle of wine to lunch and you might be tempted to return to the Relaxation Room and stretch out in a chaise. And that’s OK. Visit Mirbeau on a “day pass’’ and you’re encouraged to make full use of the facilities – gym, saunas, outdoor hot tub – and explore the grounds, which, before long will be in full flower.

Go ahead, enjoy being the Birthday Queen or Birthday King for a day. Breathe, relax and say “Ahhhhh!’’

Mirbeau Inn & Spa is at 851 W. Genesee Street Road (Route 20), about a mile outside the village of Skaneateles. A 50-minute spa treatment and three-course lunch costs roughly $200, depending on treatment and meal options. For more information, call 315-685-5006.